Alhambra Union centre Amaziah Mitchell gets past Green Island fullback Zion Niha to score a try during a Dunedin division 1 match at Miller Park on Saturday. PHOTO: PETER MCINTOSHAlhambra-Union 43 Green Island 41 Alhambra-Union shook off the disappointment of being docked five competition points with a gutsy 43-41 win over Green Island at Miller Park on Saturday. The Broncos’ 38-10 win over Zingari-Richmond in round 10 was rescinded for fielding an ineligible player. That player — former and future Highlanders prop Jermaine Ainsley — helped them turn that frustration into a memorable win over the Grizzlies. AU brushed off an indifferent opening 15 minutes, in which they conceded three tries, to roar back into contention. Their forward pack seized the initiative. Ainsley, Samuel Smith and Petelo Amato took control of the scrum, and No8 Benjamin Latu made some heavy carries. Midfielders Tylar Diack and Amaziah Mitchell both scored nice individual tries to close the gap to 24-21 at halftime. But first five Will Thode was the star. His goalkicking proved the difference for AU as he drilled five of his six conversion attempts and landed a penalty shortly after the break to level the scores. Thode’s biggest moment came in the dying moments of the game. He got himself into a half gap and reached over to score. Then he chipped the conversion through from a handy spot to help clinch the win. Green Island winger Jaxon Harvey was electric. He scored three tries, one of them straight out of the Jeff Wilson playbook. The Grizzlies counter-attacked from deep and got it to Harvey, who took off along the sideline, chipped, regathered and scored in the corner. Green Island’ s discipline cost them dearly, though. Flanker Amos Roddick and lock Mat McCutcheon picked up yellow cards in the second half and the home side were briefly down to 13 men. — Adrian Seconi Southern 54 University 22 It has all rather fallen apart for University. The Bookworms crashed to their fifth consecutive loss when they slumped to a 54-22 defeat at the hands of Southern at the University Oval. University conceded 50 or more points for a fourth consecutive game. Southern first five Jimmy Taylor set the tone with a quality outing. He scored early and landed seven conversions in a 19-point haul. His older brother, Highlanders hooker Jack Taylor, came off the bench for the last 30 minutes to help twist the knife. The Magpies led 35-17 at halftime. University scored first through centre Jay Reihana after the break and a window opened for them to get back into the contest. But Southern responded with back-to-back tries. Winger Jeremiah Asi went over and prop Caleb Hughes got his name on the score sheet. Magpies fullback Wyndham Patuawa completed the scoring. He produced some nifty footwork to go over in the corner. The defence was a little lacking there. Seasoned back Paul Tupa’i dotted down twice in the first half. Justin Malifa and Jimmy Taylor combined nicely for the Magpies. Otago loose forward Will Stodart put in a steady shift for University at No8 and later lock, while Reihana was threatening in the midfield. The win means Southern move into second place behind Taieri. University have slipped down one spot to fifth place. They won their opening six games and will be desperate to rejoin the winners’ circle when they travel to the North Ground to play Alhambra-Union next weekend. — Adrian Seconi Taieri 26 Harbour 12 Taieri’s depth of player resources was to the fore in a bonus-point win over Harbour in the Challenge Shield game at Peter Johnstone Park. It took the Eels just 36 seconds to put the first points on the board when lock Harvey Amende charged down a clearance. The ball was spun wide into the hands of winger Joe Cockburn, who dived over in the corner. Taieri’s pressure and midfield defence countered wave after wave of threats as Harbour set up camp inside the home side’s half, only yielding when the ball was spun to Daniel Muasika, who crashed over in the corner to level the scores. At 5-5, Taieri burst out of the blocks with vigour after the break, scoring through first five Archie Body. Then halfback Joel Lam, set to join Otago after playing for Moana Pasifika, outfoxed the Harbour defenders when he ran the blind from a 5m scrum to score a sensational try. Replacement winger Oscar Anderson put the game out of reach for Harbour when breaking through three tackles to give his side a 26-5 lead with 10 minutes remaining. A sense of urgency engulfed Harbour as the clock counted down. But Taieri’s defence stood firm until the final movement of the game, when lock Preston Moananu capped off a quality performance to score for the visitors. Moananu stood out for Harbour with his high workrate throughout and dominance at the lineout. The Taieri pack stood up to the bigger Harbour pack. In the backs, Body and fullback Caleb Leef played a major role in keeping the Eels on the front foot. — Wayne Parsons Dunedin 43 Zingari-Richmond 29 This was the infamous games of two halves with Dunedin scoring five tries in the first spell to effectively put the game to bed. The game started badly when, late in the curtain-raiser, a player in the Zingari women’s team went down with a neck injury and could not be moved, and it took two hours for an ambulance to arrive. On the No 2 ground at Montecillo, Dunedin played downhill in the first half. They dominated territory and possession, and their continuity game was too much for Zingari. The Sharks ran in five tries from sweeping movements, wingers Johnny Young (two) and Tayne Harvey scoring three of them. Fullback Darcy Porter and midfielder Gene Te Amo also dotted down and they led 33-5 at the break. Zingari were not helped by their inability to hold the ball in the tackle. However, in the second half it was Dunedin who inexplicably could not hold on to the ball, and Zingari pounced with four long-range tries themselves, including a brace to first five Monty Sherriff. Dunedin were not helped by losing lock Alex Arnold as he had dominated the lineouts, but they scored a couple of tries from close range through forwards Ben Joseph and Tasman Soanai Oeti to keep the game in check. For Dunedin, locks Arnold and Joseph were standouts and their front row had the upper hand for most of the game, and Joe Cooke was all power and aggression in the midfield. Young was dynamic out wide and they should have directed more play his way. Young flanker Rupeni Koroi was classy for Zingari with ball in hand, and his offloading skills were sublime. Stand-in first five Sherriff was the best of their backs and rewarded for his support play with two nicely taken tries. — Paul Dwyer Round 12 The scores Alhambra-Union 43 (Petelo Amato, Manaia Lesa, Will Thode, Amaziah Mitchell, Tylar Diack, Luke Jordan tries; Thode 5 con, pen), Green Island 41 (Jaxon Harvey 3, Mat McCutcheon, Alex Piebenga, Shane Fikken, Josh Beer-Williams tries; Isaac McAuliffe 3 con). Halftime: Green Island 24-21. Southern 54 (Paul Tupa’i 2, Jimmy Taylor, Justin Malifa, Charlie Ashford, Jeremiah Asi, Caleb Hughes, Wyndham Patuawa tries; Taylor 7 con), University 22 (Jay Reihana 2, Caleb Abrahams 2 tries; Cruz Kumeroa con). Halftime: Southern 35-17. Taieri 26 (Joe Cockburn, Archie Body, Joel Lam, Oscar Anderson tries; Body 3 con), Harbour 12 (Daniel Muasika, Preston Moananu tries; Kyle Kloppers con). Halftime: 5-5. Dunedin 43 (Johnny Young 2, Tayne Harvey, Darcy Porter, Gene Te Amo, Tasman Soanai Oeti, Ben Joseph tries; Brayden Dew 4 con), Zingari-Richmond 29 (Monty Sheriff (2), Ratu Latus, Darien Crawford, Jacob Hooper tries; Bill Temaka 2 con). Halftime: Dunedin 33-5.
